


You're My Samurai (One-Shots)

by Wizzy



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: F/M, Hakuouki SSL
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-24 03:58:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 12,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4904710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wizzy/pseuds/Wizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of One-Shots for the awesome Samurai of Hakuouki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reckless (Hajime Saito)

I'd lost count of how many times he'd jumped in at just the right time to save my life. My habit of jumping into things and protecting people who couldn't defend themselves almost always threw me into some sort of trouble.

“ _Saito-sama!”_ I'd shout out excitedly whenever he rescued me.

Afterwards he'd scold me for such a careless act.  _“You shouldn't be so reckless, Makoto.”_  But every time, he'd still give me a small smile and pat me on the head.

“Saito-sama...” He was always there when I needed someone, even when he had specifically told me not to interfere and I disobeyed. “I wish there was some way to repay him for all those times he came to my side when the fight was too much for me to handle on my own.”

“You've taught me everything I know about how to use a sword,” I said out loud, though no one was around to hear. For a long time now, he had been training me almost every day. I'd push myself harder and harder until I dropped, all for him. “Even Okita-san was impressed with how much I'd learned when I stood up to him awhile back. I may not be strong enough or even good enough to match his skill yet, but I'm sure that someday I will.”

“I'll do it for you, Saito-sama. I know I only cause trouble for you, but I want to make you proud of me.” Looking up at the night sky, I suddenly felt very mature. It was a funny feeling, but I liked it. “Even if you may never return my love for you, I'll do everything I can to make you proud.” I stood up and brushed myself off.

“No more reckless little Makoto,” I told the nothingness around me, throwing my fist up in the air. “It's time for me to start acting like a true warrior and make Saito-sama proud to call me his student.”

“You don't have to go that far to make me proud of you.”

Upon hearing his voice, I instantly spun around, my face red from embarrassment and surprise. “Saito-sama!” Having been too busy with my little speech, I hadn't even noticed him approaching. “You didn't... you didn't hear any of that... did you?”

His response was calm and seemingly emotionless, as he always seemed to be. “Even if I didn't hear, the look on your face gives it away.”

“O-oh...” Embarrassed that the man I idolized had heard me speaking like that, I quickly turned my back to him. Even with as brave as I was, I was too scared to say those things to Saito-sama and couldn't bring myself to look at him after knowing he'd heard everything.

“Makoto,” Saito said, his voice suddenly a lot closer than it had been a second ago. He grabbed my arm, spinning me to face him. As he spoke again, his voice dropped to a whisper. “I've always been proud of you.”

I didn't know what to say to that. Actually, I doubted I could even speak if I had known what to say. But that didn't matter when I was suddenly pulled into his arms and the distance between us was closed.

Saito was never an emotional one, nor was he the type to ever act on impulse. But in this moment, this kiss that we shared, he was exactly as I usually was. I was the reckless; he was the cautious. But for just a moment, our roles had reversed. And I was loving it.

“That's a reckless move Saito-sama...” I said once we parted, my voice barely a whisper.

“Let me be the reckless one,” he whispered, sending chills throughout my body. “Just this once...” With those last words, the gap was closed again. Here in his embrace and lost in his kiss, I was the happiest person in the world.


	2. Hangover (Souji Okita)

“Ow...” I mumbled to myself while I tried to sit up. For some reason, I'd woken up with the worst headache I'd ever had. After feeling something stir near me, I realized I wasn't alone.

Glancing over to my side, I found a naked Souji Okita in bed with me. “Oh hell no...” I groaned, placing a hand on my forehead.  _Please tell me I didn't sleep with him..._ Of course, the lack of my clothing clearly indicated that what I feared was what happened.

“Good morning to you too,” he said, rolling over so that he was facing me. As usual, he had a mischievous smirk on his face.

Pain shot through my head and I instinctively place my hand over the area that hurt. “Man this hurts...”

“That, princess, would be a hangover,” he informed me, sitting up next to me.

Hangover? “But I wasn't drinking last night.” I'd never drank any sort of alcohol in my life.

Okita just smirked. “Your friend kept giving you something and you never seemed catch on to what he was doing,” he explained, making me wonder just what had went on last night. “You were most definitely drunk though.”

“I'd have to be to sleep with  _you._ ”

My attempt at an insult just made him laugh. “Sorry to tell you, princess, but  _you_  were  _begging_  for it.”

My entire body stiffened. “I would never do that!” I was almost shouting. If there wasn't the risk of someone hearing me, I would have likely been yelling at him from the moment I saw him in my bed. “Especially not with you, Okita!”

“Going back to calling me Okita now?” he pouted. “That's a shame. Hearing you say 'Souji' over and over last night sounded _so_  good.” It was shocking to know that even in a situation as serious as this, he could still tease me so effortlessly. No, I guess it's more annoying rather than shocking. Regardless, he was teasing me and I was not liking it.

“There is no way in hell I willingly did anything with you.” At that point I was ready to tell him to get the hell out of my room, but there was one little problem with that. This wasn't my room: it was  _his_.

“Oh really?” Something about that smirk and that look on his face made my uneasy. He leaned in and whispered to me in a lustful voice, his breath tickling my ear. “Then let me refresh your memory...”

As he moved down to my neck, I felt my heart flutter. His lips brushed against my skin, sending pleasant shivers through me. “S-Souji...” I don't know what came over me, but before I knew it I was feeling very shy and was suddenly calling him by his first name.

“Much better,” he growled, nibbling at every sensitive spot that he could find. “Let's hear more...”

He didn't seem to care that anyone could walk in at any second. Not only would he be in trouble, I would have to deal with Saito's wrath if anyone were to find out about this. “Souji... We shouldn't...” Before I could finish speaking, I saw the door slide open. “Souji-” I tried to tell him, but he just ignored me and kept going.

Only when the familiar voice of Kondo shouted out in surprise did he finally look up. “Souji!” Okita climbed off of me, throwing some clothes over me so no one else could see anything. However, that had left him entirely exposed, completely giving away what had been going on.

Kondo wasn't normally a loud person, but his sudden outburst drew the attention of a few others. The only ones I could see were Shinpachi, Heisuke and Harada, but I knew there had to be others. “Hey Kondo-san, what is-” Shinpachi almost fell over in shock. “Whoa!”

Harada, on the other hand, had a different reaction. “Souji, put your clothes on.”

“We'll finish this later,” Okita whispered to me before standing up and closing the door, allowing us to get dressed in peace. Despite how much I wanted to hate him, I couldn't suppress a smile from the thought of continuing what we started..

As much I would have loved to continue that later, I loved messing with him even more. “No we won't,” I teased, wincing in pain as I stood up. “Next time, I'll make sure I'm not drunk when it happens. Although, I would have to be drunk to even seriously consider it.”

“Keep on telling yourself that, princess.”


	3. A True Love Tale (Shinpachi Nagakura)

_It's so beautiful here... I wonder if the place I came from was this wonderful?_

I couldn't really remember anything from before waking up here and being found by some samurai who were kind enough to let me stick around. Although, I couldn't understand a word any of them said. I didn't speak Japanese and they didn't speak english. Sure, there were a few words that I'd managed to learn and I was slowly figuring out more, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to hold a conversation.

 _I wonder... How did that song go again?_  Trying to remember a song that was Japanese that I enjoyed, I began to hum the tune to myself. Soon enough, the words came flowing back to me.

 

_Odori tsukare nemuru sora_

_Yagate kuchiru sakuragi no_

_Mai ochiru hanabira(hanabira) no_

_Yukue tadoreba_

_Hito no unmei(sadame) mo hakanaki mugen(yume)_

 

_Mabuta no ura ni yadoru_

_Itoshiki anata omou_

 

_Mamoritakute_

_Mamoritakute_

_Kono karada ga kuchihatete shimatte mo_

_Anata to deau tame ni_

_Watashi wa kitto_

_Umarete kitakara_

 

Soon, I'd lost myself in the song.

 

_(Shinpachi's POV)_

As glanced around, looking for the girl who we'd taken in, I heard a voice. A gentle, kind voice singing a pretty little song. Curious, I followed the sound until I found the girl I'd been searching for just a moment ago.

Sitting there next to a shallow part of the river was a girl we'd found who couldn't understand a word any of us said, nor could we understand her. No doubt being here was difficult for her. Maybe sitting alone out here and singing to herself was her way of cheering herself up.

That's when I realized it;  _I could understand her._ Until now, I couldn't understand a single word she said. But this song, every word was clear, almost like she'd spoken the language her whole life.

 

_The sound of my heart beating against my chest_

_I sensed the sorrow that overlapped with the contour_

_That my fingers touched_

_The pain directs me to the answer_

_Together with you, “I want to live”_

 

Her voice was so beautiful; it made me wish that she would use it more. Not just in singing, but in other ways too. Although, I could never understand her anyway. Quietly, I sat down beside her and listened.

 

_Amidst the darkness that is drawing near_

_Even if tomorrow is locked up_

 

_Transcending time_

_Toward the end of time_

_The goodbye that this instant invites_

_After it awakes from its deep sleep_

_In the morning dew_

_The dream slowly melts away_

 

_One by one…_

_Each time I try to hold them_

_One by one…_

_They slip away_

_If I have to constantly make choices in my life_

_I will give this life_

_To you_

 

_I want to protect you_

_But I can’t protect you_

_To the promise that this instant invites_

_No matter how many times I am reborn, I’ll go_

_To the place filled with sunlight that seeps through the trees_

_To where you are_

 

_Even if_

_We are far apart_

_I will always be_

_Loving you_

 

“That was beautiful,” I said as she stopped singing. Apparently she hadn't noticed me beside her, since the sound of my voice startled her. She stood up too quickly, making her lose her balance. Being the man I am, I attempted to catch her before she fell, only to lose my own balance in the process.

 

_(Reader's POV)_

As I fell, I'd prepared myself to hit the cold water. However, it wasn't the water I'd hit. Looking down, I'd landed on something... or rather  _someone._ “Nagakura?” Why was he underneath me? Had he tried to stop me from falling? “I'm sorry!” I said, attempting to apologize in Japanese, but he just laughed at me.

Shinpachi said something I couldn't understand as I looked away, embarrassed. I was certain that he had laughed because I'd said it wrong. He then said something else, his voice sounding more concerned this time.

Slowly, I turned my head to look down at the man under me. Our eyes met for just a moment before his gazed shifted downward. At first, I just kept staring down at him, but my curiosity got the best of me and I followed his eyes to see what he was staring at. When I saw it, I felt my face heat up.

During the fall, the front of my kimono had loosened. Now in this position, Shinpachi could see right down the front, giving him a good view of my chest.

Panicking, I tried to climb off of him. But Shinpachi wasn't too fond of that idea. As I moved away, he just pulled me right back down. Slipping his arm around my waist, my body was pressed tightly against his.

As I looked at him, a strange sort of smile spread across his face. It made a funny feeling come over me. For the first time in my life, I'd actually felt shy just being near someone.

Shinpachi leaned in and I could feel him whisper in my ear. Even if I had no idea what he was saying, that seductive whisper sent chills down my spine. It gave me such a feeling that when his lips pressed themselves against mine, I gladly kissed him back.

Even if our words could never reach each other, our actions would. Besides, don't they always say that actions speak louder than words?


	4. Something Different (Susumu Yamazaki)

“Captain! We have to fall back!”

“They're too strong for us!” We'd lost so many men with this attack. At the request of my comrades, I gave the order to retreat. As we made our escape, I lost a few more and had nearly gotten myself killed.

“Damn it!” I punched a nearby tree out of frustration once we were finally a safe enough distance away. My division was twenty men when we'd launched our attack, now there were only five of us including myself. “We should have had them! Those... grr!”

“It's like they knew we were going to attack,” one of my men said, saying what none of us wanted to believe.

All of us were injured, some more than others. The one that was the least injured volunteered to scout ahead for a place where we could properly tend to our wounds. He barely had more than a few scratches, so there was little arguing against it. As the rest of us waited, I tended to the more severe injuries as best as I could. But I was no healer, so the best I could was use some scraps of cloth to slow the bleeding until we could find someone to take care of it.

“If you require medical attention, perhaps you should seek help from the Shinsengumi's healer,” a voice said, seemingly coming from nowhere. I spun around, aggravating my injuries as I prepared to defend myself and my comrades from this mysterious voice.

Standing there was a man dressed in a ninja's clothing. Normally I'd be hesitant to trust a stranger, but right now my men's lives were depending on it. “How far is it to reach the Shinsengumi?”

The man stayed emotionless as he answered. “It's not far from here. If you are still able to walk, we can be there in as little as ten minutes.”

 

After arriving, my men were taken away to have their wounds treated. While I should have been dealing with my own, I instead had been busy explaining the situation to their commander. All the while though, I made sure to cover up my own injuries, as there was no way of telling if they were really ally or enemy.

Once the talking was over with, I wandered off to check on my men. When I arrived, I was met with a surprise: the healer that was treating my comrades' wounds was the very same ninja who had led us here.

“You know, it would have saved time if you'd just done this when you found us,” I pointed out. The ninja shook his head.

“That would not have been possible,” he explained calmly. “Your wounds were much too severe and the materials necessary for such treatment were not with me.”

The was little room to argue that, as he didn't seem to have anything with him and I clearly had nothing but the clothing on my back and the sword on my him. “You have a point... um... you got a name, Ninja?”

“Susumu Yamazaki.”

“Well, Yamazaki, it's nice to met you. The name's Teruko Nanase, Captain of the 2nd Division of Kaito's Fang.” I extended my hand for him to shake it, but in doing so I'd exposed the part of my clothing where the blood had soaked through.

Yamazaki quickly noticed. “Your injuries seem almost as bad as your companions' were,” he said.

As the man set about tending to my injuries, we spoke. “It is rare to see a female samurai. Even more so to see one with such a high rank.”

“The Fang may be a small and unknown group, but we've been around a long time,” I explained. Yamazaki was now bandaging some of the less severe wounds. “My father was one of the best commanders we've ever had and taught me everything he knew. So it's no surprise that I was made captain.”

He nodded. “Coming from a family of warriors certainly would give someone an advantage.” As he finished his work, I stood and thanked him. However, my companions and I wouldn't be leaving just yet, since two of them were too injured to make the trip back to our headquarters.

Over the next few days, Yamazaki would check on our injuries to make sure they were healing properly. One of those times, I stood next to him and watched. “Could you teach me?”

“You mean you don't know how to treat simple wounds?” he asked, somewhat surprised.

I only shook my head. “My skills don't extend any further than the battlefield.” In fact, I could do very little besides fighting and thinking of battle strategies. Guess that comes from being the only child of a samurai. “You can thank my father for that. Never knew my mother.”

Yamazaki nodded. “I see no harm in teaching you the basics.” As he showed me everything he could, I found myself smiling. Even though he was still just a stranger, there was something about Yamazaki, something different than anyone else. And that something different, was something I started to fall in love with.


	5. New Recruit (Toshizo Hijikata)

“This is ridiculous!” As a warrior of the Shinsengumi, I had every right to go with the rest of my division on this mission. However, because I just happen to be a female, Hijikata had specifically ordered me to stay behind. Okay, maybe that wasn't the excuse he gave us, but I knew that was the reason. “I get that I'm a newbie here, but how am I ever going to get any sort of experience if I'm stuck here all the time?”

The long haired commander stood before, irritation clearly written all over his face. “You're as stubborn as ever...” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No doubt I was getting on his nerves. “My reasons for making you stay behind are none of your business.”

In that moment, I really wanted to hurt him. If he were making me stay behind, he at least owed me some sort of reason why. It's not like I recklessly jump into battle or I'm not that good with a blade... Hell, I was better than most of our men. I might have even had the skill to be named as a captain. But no, Hijikata never let me do a thing.

“What the hell is it gonna take to prove that I'm worthy of fight for the Shinsengumi?” As I shouted at the commander, I was reminded of the moment I'd asked to join up. This seemed like an echo of our first meeting.

 

“I hear you guys are recruiting new members,” I said, my voice confident.

The men standing before me exchanged unsure glances. “You're a woman,” one of the them said, a long-haired man who I later learned was named Hijikata.

“So?” All I had to do was stay confident and, if I had to, prove that I was as good as any man they already had. Shouldn't be a problem, right? “A woman can be a samurai if she so chooses.”

“I think what Toshi means is that it wouldn't be the best idea for a young woman to be among such a large group of men,” one of Hijikata's companions said, trying to cover for him. Later on, I'd learn that his name was Kondo.

There was no reason not to let me join. They needed people and I was a person. I could fight. I was smart. But I was also a woman. “I don't care if I'm the only one! I'm as good a warrior as any of them!”

Before either of the two had a chance to argue, the third spoke up. “A single woman among many men is practically inviting trouble,” he said. This man was Sanan. “If any of them were to attempt something, no doubt it would end very badly.”

This was starting to really piss me off. I'd trained almost my whole life and for what? I get denied the one chance I have to put that hard work to use for a good cause. “I can fight! I can be of use!” I wasn't just going to give up so easily. “If one of them wants to try something, go ahead and let them try! I'll kick their ass if I have to!”

The one called Hijikata looked at me for what seemed like a long time. What was he thinking? Was he going to change his mind? Soon enough, my questions were answered. “You've got guts. I like that.”

 

Hijikata let out a sigh. “You're not going to give up, are you?” He seemed unusually calm compared to all the other times I'd argued with him about his orders

“Not until I'm dead,” I smirked. Confidence is key. That was the phrase that ruled my life. As long as I acted confidently, I couldn't fail. Right now, it was the best that could be done.

He gave me a small smile. There was something in that devilish mind of his, I just knew it. “If you're that determined, then I suppose I could have you accompany me for a different task,” he said with a slight smirk. “That is, if you think you're still as good as any man.”

Hijikata wasn't actually serious, was he? The commander wasn't the type to joke around, but he never lets me leave headquarters. Just what was he trying to pull? “Since when do you actually want me to do what I joined to do?” I challenged, unsure if I could actually believe him.

Challenging him didn't quite result the way I'd expected. He merely shrugged and turned his back to me. “Suit yourself. I thought you wanted to be a real warrior, but I guess I was mistaken,” Hijikata said, wandering away. It was that moment that made me realize that he'd actually been serious about having my help.

“H-hey!” I exclaimed, running off after the commander. “Hijikata! Wait up!”


	6. Little Ball Of Fire (Sanosuke Harada, SSL)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, in SSL, Harada is a Gym/Physical Education Teacher.

Classes can be boring sometimes. When it's the same old stuff with the same old people, things lose their fun pretty easily. As a teacher, that can be a bit rough. For this reason, I'd allowed my students to do what they wished during this class time.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of them stood around talking, pretending that they were actually doing something. As I looked around, one student caught my attention.

From what I knew, she was a quiet girl who didn't do much when it came to physical activities. But today, things were a little different. She stood near a basketball hoop with a ball in her hands. Taking a few steps back, she shot the ball. I was a bit surprised when it went in.

After a couple more tosses like that, she stepped back even further, almost to the half-court line. With her being such a small girl, I didn't think she'd have nearly enough strength to make a shot like that. But little did I know, hidden in such a calm and quiet shell, there was a powerful, passionate fire burning.

 

_(Reader's POV)_

My breathing was growing heavier with every shot I made. Okay, sure, maybe I was putting a lot more into this than I needed to, but it had been awhile since I'd been able to channel all my anger into something. I tossed the ball, easily making it in.

As I ran to retrieve it, someone else had gotten there first. Looking at the person holding my ball, I frowned. This was the same guy who was always picking on me. He held out the ball, offering it to me. But the moment I reached out to take it, he quickly pulled it away.

Angry, I reached out to snatch it back, but he held it just out of reach. Over and over I tried, but I couldn't get it. He was bigger and stronger than me and I was quickly running out of breath.

Just when I felt so worn out that I was going to collapse, someone took my ball out of the bully's hands. Standing behind him, was our teacher. “That's enough,” Harada-sensei said, giving the other student a scolding look. “I think you're old enough to know better than to pick on a girl. If I see it again, you'll get detention, got it?”

The boy nodded and ran off while I stood there, staring up at our teacher. Other teachers never noticed or just never bothered to do anything whenever I got picked on. “Thank you,” I told him. Or I tried to, at least. I was so worn out that I could barely breathe, so barely any sound came out.

Harada gave me a small smile and handed me my ball. Of course, I was too tired to go back to what I'd been doing. “I know you're tired, but...” He paused a moment, crossing his arms. “You think you could do just one more of those shots from the middle?”

Even with as tired as I was, hearing him ask something like that made me smile. As a thank-you, I felt like that was the least I could do for him.  _Thank you, Harada-sensei._


	7. Lovers Quarrel (Hajime Saito)

“Hajime Saito, you will not come with me!” We'd discussed this several times already, yet this samurai was being incredibly persistent about accompanying me. This task had been entrusted to me by Hijikata, which made it a huge deal for me.

You see, I'm not actually a part of the Shinsengumi. No, I'm a part of another group, though we work alongside the Shinsengumi whenever possible or necessary. And this particular task was of great importance, so screwing up wasn't an option.

“I cannot allow you to do such a dangerous task on your own,” Saito argued. His usually calm voice was beginning to show just a touch of the anger and frustration that I knew he was feeling right now.

While he was still fairly calm, I was most definitely not. Yes, this task was potentially extremely dangerous, but that was why I didn't want him with me. It would be tougher without his help and it would likely endanger my own men, but I couldn't stand the thought of Saito getting hurt. Sure, it's incredibly selfish, but I wasn't going to risk him getting hurt because of me.

“I will not allow it!” By now I was practically yelling. We'd long since attracted the attention of everyone in the compound, but neither of us really cared. So long as no one interfered, it didn't matter who saw.

Saito's gaze turned to a figure over to the side. “Commander-”

Hijikata only shook his head. “I will not get involved in some lovers' quarrel.”

 _Lovers?_ I had to restrain a laugh. No, we weren't lovers, more like teacher and student. Saito had trained me for a few years now, but I had yet to defeat him in a match. Well, I wasn't actually his student anymore, but the same mentality was still there.

Saito knew that there was no way to convince me to change my mind. That was like ordering the mountains to fly across the seas. It just simply wasn't going to happen. “We both know you need me with you for this,” he calmly argued. As usual, he was right. But that didn't mean I'd give in.

Though the longer this went on, the angrier I became. How could he not realize that I wanted him to stay here so he would be safe? “As Byaku's commander, I will not allow it!”

For just a moment, there was a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Only recently had I been named commander, so few knew of my rank. Saito was among those who I hadn't told yet. I really hated to use such a tactic against him, but he really wasn't giving me much choice.

“I take orders from the Shinsengumi's commander and no one else.”

With a frustrated sigh, I realized there was only one way to truly settle this. “Fine. Let's settle this like men.”

“That's hardly fitting, seeing as you're a woman.”

Regardless of what he thought of this, he still drew his sword as I did. I may not have ever beaten him before, but that didn't mean that I didn't have a chance. Sure, it was an incredibly slim chance, but I was determined.

For the longest time, the match was even. Neither side was showing any sign of backing down. But I was feeling my body weakening. No matter how frustrating Saito could be at times, I had to admit he was much better with a blade than I could ever be. Not only did he have a lifetime of practice, but also incredible stamina. I had no hope of ever catching up to him.

As my body grew weaker, I threw more and more into my movements until finally the matched forces became mismatched. With one last good swing, I sent his katana flying out of his hands and my blade pointed at his neck. Victory was mine.

Unable to stand any longer, I let myself fall to my knees. For the first time, I'd defeated Saito. Even though it took everything I had, I'd done it.

Saito looked stunned. He never expected he could lose to me. By losing, he had to accept my decision. Sure, Hijikata could override it by ordering him to go, but that didn't matter. Unless that actually happened, he couldn't do anything without going against orders. The one thing that was great about that was that Saito would never disobey orders.

“You will not interfere,” I said, repeating my earlier decision. “I'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be.”

 

Later on that night, I set about preparing what I'd be needing. As I was focused on my task, I never heard the door sliding open and closing again. I didn't hear his footsteps or even know he was there until I felt arms wrap themselves around me from behind.

“Why?” Saito's voice asked. “Why won't you let me...” His embrace tightened. Apparently his emotions had built up too much and were now threatening to come spilling out. “Why do you insist on going alone? Why is it that you never call me by my first name unless you're angry? Why won't you let me protect you? Can't you see that I...”

Saito's grip tightened even more and I felt his face pressing against the back of my neck. He was barely managing to keep from saying any more. But every word he'd already said was like a knife carving into my heart.

As much as I wanted to answer him, the words caught in my throat. If Saito said anything more, I felt like I might burst into tears. Why couldn't he understand that I was only doing this to protect him? Sure, I wanted him by my side, but I didn't want to risk losing him. Whether he knew it or not, I loved him.

“Why do you have to be so stubborn about this?”

That did it. “Don't...” I said, failing to restrain a sob. I could feel myself shaking. No doubt Saito could as well. “Don't you... Can't you see this is hard for me too?” The arms around my waist disappeared, but I kept my back to him. I was afraid that if I looked at him, I'd say something I didn't want to. “Why can't you understand? I just wanted to protect you. If anything happened to you because of me... I... I'm terrified of losing you...”

Without warning, I felt myself being spun around. Before I could even process what was happening, something soft pressed against my lips. By the time I'd realized what he'd done, he'd already pulled away.

All I could do was stare. Sure, me falling in love with him was no surprise. Him falling for someone like me? Unimaginable. But Saito wouldn't act like this if he didn't truly feel that way. He just wasn't that kind of guy.

“Let me protect you,” he pleaded.

I just sighed. “You really aren't going to give up, are you?”

Saito gave just me a slight smile as an answer. “Is it wrong to want to protect the woman I love?”

Couldn't exactly argue that, so instead I wrapped my arms around him. “You realize this is how the argument started in the first place, right?” A moment later, I made up my mind. “Just promise me one thing, alright?”

“What would that be?”

“Mmm... I changed my mind.” I smirked. “You can come on two conditions.”

“What would those be?” He gave me a questioning smile as I held him tighter.

“Promise me that you won't die or get hurt.”

Saito nodded. “And? What's the other thing?”

I leaned up so that our noses were just barely touching before I spoke. “You have to kiss me again.”


	8. Keeping Secrets (Shinpachi Nagakura)

Fights with the Shinsengumi members seem to happen a lot here in Kyoto. As I walked along, I spotted a fight that had just ended. A man in a Shinsengumi coat began to walk away, something falling as he did. I, being the kind person I am, picked up the object and followed after him.

“Excuse me,” I called out to him, holding out the object he'd dropped. “I believe you dropped this...”

“Thank you-” the man started to say, but he stopped and his eyes widened. That's when I noticed how familiar he looked.

“Shinpachi?” The second his name left my lips, I found myself being picked up and spun around. “Shin! Put me down!” I tried my best to sound tough, but I couldn't keep myself from laughing.

“You have no idea how much I've missed you,” he said, setting me down and holding me tightly. Then, as if suddenly remembering, he released me and took a few steps back. “Wait a minute, didn't you leave to get married to some guy that your family wanted you to?”

“Actually...” As I looked away, I felt myself blushing a little out of embarrassment. “I couldn't go through with it.”

“Really?” Any normal person would have been shocked, but Shinpachi sounded almost happy that I hadn't married that guy. Though I guess I could understand that. The two of us had been really close since we were kids and when we'd gotten older, we would often fool around. Of course, no one had ever known about that. No doubt he missed that. “Why didn't you come back then?”

“There were... complications...” That was a subject I didn't really want to get into. So I avoided his question. Before he had a chance to pry, a third voice joined our conversation and reminded me of her presence.

“Mommy, who is that man?” My daughter peeked out from behind me. She was the reason I hadn't gone back to Edo... and Shinpachi.

I wasn't exactly sure how to explain this. Shinpachi and I... well, let's just say we were too close to really say we were just friends. But then again, we weren't quite lovers. Sure, the physical component was there, but we weren't in love. In the end I went with the simplest answer I could think of. “Um... he's a friend of Mommy's, sweetie.”

“Hello there,” he said, kneeling down so that he was closer to her level. “What's your name?”

“Sayuri's a little shy,” I answered for her as she hid her face from him. Seconds later, she was peeking out at him again. Seeing the two of them together, I realized just how much my daughter looked like her father. Not that her father knew anything about her.

Shinpachi laughed. “I see. Nothing like her mother, huh?” As he started to stand back up, Sayuri moved from he place behind and approached the man in front of me.

“Mommy, he's got the same necklace as me,” she said, touching the green stones of his necklace before showing him the necklace that she always wore. “Does that mean he's my daddy?”

I felt my body freeze up. Awhile ago, she'd asked me about her father. She was too young to really understand, so I'd told her that she'd meet him someday. When she wanted to know more, I said that when we were younger, I'd made two necklaces that were exactly the same. I'd given one to him and I'd kept the other. Once she'd gotten old enough, I gave mine to her and told her about how it was special.

He was surprised at first, but after thinking about it a moment, he understood. Sayuri was the reason I hadn't come back. _He_ was the reason I couldn't go through with the arranged marriage. Everything I'd avoided saying had suddenly become clear to him.

He may not seem it, but he was actually a smart guy. Smart enough to figure out that the timing was right. I would have had to have known before I'd left that I was going to have his child, yet I hadn't said a single word to him about it.

“Looks like you've been keeping secrets from me.” Shinpachi gave me a sad look. We'd never kept secrets from each other. “She's about seven now, isn't she?”

“I'm sorry I never told you...” After he spoke, I couldn't look him in the eye. I felt bad for never saying anything, but how could I have? I mean, just what could I say? “I... I was just scared...”

Suddenly, Shinpachi pulled me into his arms. “I think I can forgive you, if you promise me one thing,” he said, his voice calm and gentle. He certainly was taking this a lot better than I'd expected him to. “Don't keep anymore secrets from me, alright?”

“Then I guess there's one more thing I should tell you...” I said with a smile as I kissed his cheek. “I've loved you since we were kids.”

 

_Some time later..._

“Hey Sano,” Shinpachi asked his best friend. It was a thought he'd often had since finding out that he had a child. “Do you think I'll be a good father?”

Sanosuke Harada only laughed. It was a crazy question coming from someone like Shinpachi, who had never had much luck with the ladies. “I think you should worry about finding yourself a woman first, Shinpachi.”

The man only shrugged and smiled a little bit. “Well, I was just wondering since I have a daughter,”

Harada choked on the sake he'd been drinking.“You what?” He couldn't have heard him right. I mean, he couldn't have just said that he had a kid...

But before either man could speak, a child's voice called out. “Hi daddy!” Harada froze in shock as the little girl threw her arms around Shinpachi, who instantly hugged her in return. She turned her head toward the red haired man. “Are you daddy's friend?” she asked shyly.

Seeing that his friend was too surprised to say anything, Shinpachi smirked and answered for him. “Yep. That's Uncle Sano.”

As the woman he loved came in with a few others following behind her, the man found himself met with many surprised and scolding expressions from his comrades. “Shinpachi, you really shouldn't keep secrets like this from us...”


	9. Quiet Affection (Heisuke Toudou)

_Maybe coming to Kyoto wasn't such a good idea..._ Kyoto could be a dangerous place. With rogue samurai everywhere, it was hard to stay calm. Not to mention there was one little problem I had: I was mute. Needless to say, that made life incredibly difficult.

As I walked along the street one night, which was probably the worst thing I could be doing right now, I thought back to early this morning. When I'd been walking, I'd bumped into someone. The man was angry and demanded an apology. Being mute, the most I could do was bow and go on my way. The man, however, took that as me being disrespectful.

The man grabbed me, yelling some things that I didn't quite catch. Struggling to get out of his grasp soon proved pointless, so all I could do was close my eyes and wait for everything to be over. But nothing happened.

After feeling my arm being ripped out of the man's grasp, I opened my eyes. Standing before me was a long haired man in a blue coat.  _Shinsengumi..._ I thought, quickly recognizing the uniform of the men who I'd often seen patrolling the city.

The other man quickly ran off, leaving me with the man from the Shinsengumi. My rescuer then turned to me. “Are you alright?” he asked and I just nodded. “What happened anyway?”

I opened my mouth to speak only to close it again. This whole mute thing was still something new, as I had lost my voice only a few years earlier. I didn't miss it, but I'll admit that talking was incredibly helpful in situations like this. In the end, all I could do was shake my head.

 

As I walked along in the moonlight now, I realized how terrible of an idea this was. Sure, Kyoto looked really pretty at night, but it was far too dangerous. And I was about to learn just how dangerous it could be.

Out of nowhere something jumped out at me. At first all I could see was a blue coat and white hair. Then I saw the eyes, the blood red eyes... This thing in front of me in a human-like body... there was no way that thing was human. But no matter what it was or wasn't, it was a terrifying creature.

It came at me, sword drawn and ready to slice me into pieces. I was completely defenseless. Being mute, I couldn't even scream for help.

Just as it was about to strike, a sword stabbed into its heart from behind and the creature fell to the ground. My body still shaking from fear, I looked up at my savior. “You really have some bad luck, huh?” said a familiar voice. That's when I realized that this man was the same one who had rescued me this morning. “I never did get your name. I'm Heisuke Toudou.”

Luckily, I'd planned ahead a little. I may not have been able to speak, but I could write. With a smile, I pulled back my sleeve, revealing where my name was written on my arm.

“That's a pretty name,” he said, bringing a smile to my face. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by some voices calling his name. His smile quickly faded. “You better get out of here quick. If anyone finds out that you saw this guy, there'll be trouble. Just don't say-”

His warning had come just a little too late. The two who had been calling him had already arrived and spotted me. The one with longer hair frowned slightly. “A witness, huh?” he guessed.

As Heisuke pushed me around behind him, the other one had a more interesting guess at the situation. “I see... Sneaking off to meet a girl... you should have told us!” The short haired man's gazed flickered down to the body of the thing that had attacked me. “Looks like you got him too.”

“Lay off, Shin,” Heisuke said in an annoyed tone. He glanced back at me. “You better go now. If any of the others show up, you might get killed.”

All I could do was nod and do as he asked. It's not like I could talk my way out of trouble, so this was best. I only hoped that I could see him again some day, when he didn't have to protect me.

 

_(Heisuke's POV)_

Shinpachi and Sano looked like the wanted to follow after her. I couldn't let them do that. As I stepped in the way, Sano raised an eyebrow at me. “This is strange behavior for you,” he said, casting a glance at Shinpachi. “Don't tell me that Shinpachi was actually right...”

“It's not like that,” I said, trying to keep myself calm. If I got too defensive, that would only make this look worse. “I just know her, that's all.” I didn't dare mention that I'd only met her this morning. “She's not going to say anything, so there's no point in messing with it.”

“And just how do you know that?” Shinpachi questioned.

“Because she can't,” I sighed. “She can't talk, so it'd be a waste of time to interrogate her and I don't think anyone would even consider that she'd know anything anyway.” At least, I believed that was true. Maybe I only wanted to think that because deep down, I really just wanted to see her again.


	10. Teaching The Teacher (Shinpachi Nagakura, SSL)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on a real event.

I don't know why I even agreed to this. Wait, yes I did. It was because of one of my fellow teachers who I'd been hoping I might be able to get with. She just had to go take care of something that was super important and asked me to watch over her class since I was free for a bit. If I'd known just what would happen, I would have refused.

She'd said to just have them work on this project and that the info was in these papers. All I had to do was give the kids the papers and just tell them what computer program they had to use. Sounds simple right? Wrong.

What no one bothered to mention was that no one knew anything about this program. And I knew even less than these kids did. So when I got attacked with a million questions, I had no idea what to do.

That's when I noticed something strange. Within little more than five minutes of being given the assignment, one student already had it done.

She was a quiet girl who no one ever seemed to notice. Hypothetically speaking, if a teacher were to be in a relationship with a student, she'd be the perfect one for that. She was kinda pretty, but she gave off a 'stay away' sort of vibe and didn't speak unless she absolutely had to. So basically, she was the least likely to say anything about a forbidden relationship. Not that I actually thought about that...

“You,” I said, not being able to remember what her name was. “Little quiet girl who knows how the hell this works... come here.”

 

_(Reader's POV)_

I shouldn't have been surprised to hear the teacher calling me over. Of all of us, including the teacher who was supposed to be teaching this class, I was the only one who knew this program. That was only because I'd had this class before with a different teacher, but that didn't matter.

“Yes, Nagakura-sensei?” I asked politely.

He put on a smile that was obviously forced. “Can you show me how this works so that I can explain it to everyone?”

Even though being close to him made me nervous, I nodded. Nagakura-sensei was a very attractive man and I wasn't exactly used to being this close to anyone anyways. If I weren't normally a very calm person, I might not have been able to avoid blushing very badly right now.

After I'd shown him and he'd explained it to everyone else, he asked the question I'd hoped I wouldn't have to answer. “How do you know all this?”

I looked away, a little embarrassed. “Because I've taken this class before. This is Tanaka-sensei's first time teaching it.” I laughed a little as I thought about it. “They sort of stuck her with it.”

Nagakura-sensei smiled. “Guess she's lucky to have you then.” The smile on his face quickly faded when he realized something else. “She skipped out today on purpose, didn't she?”


	11. Thistles (Heisuke Toudou, SSL)

_Such a nice day,_ I thought to myself as I walk along. The sun was shining and I felt like going for a walk. Wandering along, I noticed a familiar voice talking to himself. Following the sound, I was lead to Heisuke.

“I found it, but how do I get it?” He seemed to be focused on his objective and hadn't noticed my presence yet. Looking closer, I noticed he was staring intently at a plant I knew very well. It was one known to be covered in spines, making it one of the more hated plants. But I thought the flowers that they had were beautiful regardless of that.

Was he trying to pick one of those flowers? I walked up beside him and asked about it. “What are you doing?”

Heisuke jumped slightly and turned towards me with a slight blush on his face. “W-well I... I was just trying to get that...” He pointed at the little purple flower just in front of him. “But whenever I try to grab it, it's kinda painful.”

I gave him a him a curious look. “Why? Do you like them?” I asked calmly. Heisuke didn't seem like the kind of guy to like flowers, but looks can be deceiving.

He just shook his head. “You see, there's this girl that I really like...” he started, making me feel kind of sad. You see, I'd liked Heisuke for awhile. We had several classes together, but I'd always hoped to get closer to him. “I heard that she really likes these, so I wanted to get one for her.”

Despite how I felt about it, I had to admit that it was sweet of him to do something like this for a girl. So as I put on a smile and decided I'd help him. “I'll get it. I'm used to picking these since they're my favorites.”

“No!” Heisuke grabbed my wrist as I'd reached out to pick the flower. Realizing what he'd done, he quickly let go as a blush made its way onto his face. “I've gotta do it or else it won't be special.”

 _He must really like this girl,_ I thought sadly. “Then how about I show you a trick to do it?” He just nodded and smiled. After a quick glance at the ground, the object that we needed was right at Heisuke's feet. “Hand me that stick.”

He was confused, but did it anyway. “I don't see how that's going to help...” I ignored him and swung the stick a few times, confirming that it would work for what it was needed for.

“Thistles are kinda tricky,” I told him, gently taking his hands and making him hold the stick like a sword. “The spines will keep you from touching the stem of the plant, so it's hard to break it without hurting yourself. But if you use a stick like this and hit it right, you'll break the stem easily without having to touch it.”

Heisuke was still a bit confused, but did as he was told anyway. As I'd said, hitting the stem with the stick snapped it fairly easy, sending the flower falling to the ground. As it hit, he laughed. “That actually worked! I can't believe I never though of that.”

“Now just pick it up gently by the soft purple part,” I smiled. After he had it in his hands, I had to show him how to remove the spines. Placing my hands over his, I noticed that blush was back again. “Just hold it carefully, but firmly,” I instructed as I showed him the proper way to pull the spines off without damaging the flower.

Once it was all done, Heisuke was ready to give it to the girl he liked. It made me sad to think about it, but if he liked her then there was nothing I could do. So I just smiled and wished him luck with her.

As I was about to turn and walk away, he held the flower out to me. I was confused; he'd said that it was for a girl he liked, not me.

Seeing that I was confused, Heisuke just smiled with a slight blush tinting he face. The next words out of his mouth made everything perfectly clear and brought a smile and a blush to my face. “I... I wanted to tell you... I really like you.”


	12. Pikachu Suit (Hajime Saito, SSL)

“Why must I do this?” Saito mumbled. He was currently giving me a cold glare. It was his own fault for agreeing to this.

Handing him the yellow suit, I couldn't suppress a giggle. “Hey, you were the one who agreed to the bet,” I reminded him. The two of us made a bet on which of us would get the highest grade on the test. The loser would have to spend an entire school day wearing a Pikachu suit. Guess who won? Yep, Saito was stuck wearing the embarrassing suit.

Saito scowled and took the suit into the other room to put it on. No doubt he was cursing me repeatedly in his mind. He wouldn't dare say anything out loud though. When he came out dressed up in the suit though, I couldn't help giggling.

He glared at me once more. “This isn't funny, Wizzy.” As much as he said that, it was still going to be funny. Even more so when his face tinted pink from embarrassment.

“Come on, you look absolutely adorable,” I insisted, unable to stop giggling. With a wide grin, I held up my phone. “Now shut up and smile for the camera.”

By the time he'd processed what I'd said, I'd already snapped the photo. Saito's eyes immediately went wide and he leaped for my phone. “Delete that!” he growled. As he tried to rip it out of my grasp, I was frantically trying to send it Heisuke, who I knew would send it back to me later if Saito managed to take my phone and delete the picture.

With him trying to steal my phone, it was really hard to send the picture. “Damn it, Wizzy! Give it here!” Hearing Saito talk like that, I internally panicked. If he were saying things like that, then you know he was pissed.

Just as I went to hit send, he made me lose my balance, sending both of us crashing to the floor. My phone fell from my hands, but I was a little too distracted by the boy who had landed on top of me. If he was embarrassed just by wearing the suit, he was even more so now.

His eyes flicked over to my fallen phone and then went wide. “You...” Saito didn't need to say it; I already knew. The words _Message Sent_ were no doubt displayed on the screen.

Saito climbed off me and quickly snatched up my phone. But the moment he looked at it, his face went pale. “Wizzy...” Without explaining, he turned the phone around, showing me the problem.

“Oh no...” Instead of sending it to Heisuke, I'd accidentally sent it to Souji Okita. That meant that the entire world would be seeing it right now. “I-I swear I didn't mean to send it to Souji... I meant to send it to Heisuke so I could get it back if you deleted it.”

“Delete it now.” His voice was cold and left no room for arguments. Though deleting it wasn't going to do much anyway. The damage had already been done.

“Don't do it,” a voice said nearby. Speak of the devil... “That's a nice one, but this one is much better.” With a laugh, Okita turned his phone around, showing us a picture on his phone. “Don't you think so, Hajime?” Once we saw what it was, Saito's and my faces were instantly bright red. Okita had taken a picture right when Saito had fallen on top of me, making the picture look like he was pinning me to the ground.

“Delete it now.”

Saito was dead serious, but Okita only laughed. “No way. Besides, everyone is already making comments about it. Can't spoil their fun now.”

In seconds, the three of us were running down the hall. Souji Okita was being chased by an embarrassed Wizzy and a very pissed off Saito in a Pikachu suit and he was laughing the whole way. “SOUJI OKITA YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!”


	13. Whatever We Started (Shinpachi Nagakura)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't figured it out by now, Shin's my guy. I mean, who can resist that handsome guy with a great personality?

As I set about doing my chores, I hadn't expected to be visited by a certain someone. Before I could get anything done, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist. Seconds after, I was pulled tight against my visitor's chest.

I didn't even need to look to know who it was. With a small smile, I ignored him and tried to carry on with my task. That only prompted him to nuzzle the back of my neck. It tickled and I found myself letting out an involuntary giggle, but still I kept working.

Frustrated about being ignored, Shinpachi pressed his lips against the side of my neck. He was making his thoughts very clear.  _Shinpachi Nagakura will not by ignored._

“Shin, I have work to do...” I protested weakly. But those were little more than empty words when I tilted my head to the side, giving him better access and encouraging him to keep going.

“It can wait...” he whispered against my skin. “I know you like this as much as I do.”

He wasn't wrong. After all, the only reason this ever happened at all was because I enjoyed it. “I still have work I need to do...”

“You're really gonna say no?” He let his teeth graze my skin, sending a pleasant shiver through me. Shinpachi always knew how to win me over. “I know you're enjoying this...”

One of his hands rubbed my side, while the other was still wrapped around me. “I hate when you're right.” Without warning, I broke away from him only to turn to face him with my arms crossed. “Why don't you ever come see me when you're not drunk?”

He looked away from me and scratched at the back of his head. No doubt trying to come up with some excuse. “I just can't face you when I'm not...” That intrigued me. We used to do this all the time without him being drunk, but that was years ago. “I feel bad about this... Like I'm just using you, you know?”

I couldn't help but laugh a little. “Shin, if I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't. You know that,” I told him. This had been going on for years now and no one knew us better than each other. Every little thing that he liked, I knew. Everything I liked, he knew. That's just how we were. “I don't mind fooling around with you even though we're not together. In fact, I look forward to it.” As I confessed that feeling, I buried my face in his chest. “I just wish you wouldn't be drunk every time.”

“Really?” Shinpachi laughed. “You're okay with me touching you in any way I please but you're not okay with me being drunk when I come to see you? Sounds a little messed up.”

He was right of course, but that's how I felt. So what if it were weird? “Shin, shut up,” I said playfully, pulling him down to my level. Instantly picking up on my intentions he pulled me into his arms and closed the distance between our lips.

No matter how many times this would happen, no matter how much I tried to resist, I knew that I'd always give in. And he would be the same way too. So what if we weren't married and had no intentions of ever doing so? We simply didn't care. Besides, we'd known from the very beginning that there would be no stopping this once we'd started. Not that we would want to anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tempted to turn this into something much more mature...


	14. Like Lightning (Sanosuke Harada)

The world can be an amazing place. Of course, that's really only when you know where you belong in the world. Me? I've dedicated my life to finding my place. Though I'm beginning to not care if I ever find it at all.

Maybe I don't have a place and I'm meant to be like the lightning; Here for a moment to dazzle you and then it's on to somewhere new. Guess it's fitting, since people have taken to calling me Lightning. In a way, it does suit me. Quick and dangerous, yet beautiful in a way.

Of course, at first glance, you'd never guess that. Being a woman of a small build, others often assume that I'm helpless and fragile. My naturally kind and gentle personality only helps that as well. But on the battlefield, I'm like lightning. You won't see me coming until it's too late.

In this moment, when a man dared to insult me when I had done nothing, I felt like lightning. The words from his mouth did not matter as his hand went to his sword. He drew his sword and swung at me, though I dodged it easily. Seeing him prepare to try again, I drew my weapon and struck before he could. As I'd expected, he blocked my blade easily, but this battle was mine.

The man's eyes grew wide and his body trembled slightly. My other sword's tip just barely touched his throat. Had I been a heartless killer, he'd have been dead before he could even see it coming. But in my kindness, I returned my twin katanas to their scabbards, leaving the man unharmed.

“There's a saying I've heard a thousand times.” The man still hadn't moved. “Play with fire and you'll get burned. That's true enough, but I have a saying of my own,” I said, my voice calm and gentle as if I were talking to a child. “Mess with Lightning, and you'll be in for a shock.”

Whether he heard me or not, I couldn't tell. Maybe it didn't even matter anyway. He ran off quickly, nearly tripping over his own feet several times before he'd gotten out of sight.

“Well, I'd say he was pretty shocked,” a familiar voice laughed not far behind me. Turning around, I smiled as I saw the face of Sanosuke Harada. “I certainly was. Didn't think a sweet little girl like you could fight like that.”

A smile spread across my face. Once again, someone had been fooled by my appearance. “Well they don't call me Lightning for nothing.” Slowly, I approached the Shinsengumi captain and together we walked along. “And I'm not a little girl.”

Harada was a handsome man, as well as kind and honest. It really was no wonder that women loved him. Being a woman myself, I was quite attracted to him. Though I never dared to consider he might ever return my affections. For now, at least, his friendship was enough.

Looking up at him now, I felt content. Here I was with a man I loved, even if he had no idea. With the sun setting and coloring the world with a beautiful orange glow, this moment almost felt like one out of a fairytale.

“Everything looks so lovely like this...” I said softly. Stealing a glance at Harada, I noticed that he also looked even better in the light of sunset. Just seeing him like that made my heart flutter and my face grow warm.

“You always look beautiful...”

At first I didn't think I'd heard him right. But knowing him, he'd likely said exactly what I thought I'd heard. After all, Sanosuke Harada always seemed to be flirting with the ladies, even if he didn't realize it.

Such a line would never fool me. “I'll bet you say that to every girl,” I sighed, sounding a lot sadder than I'd meant to.

Harada seemed to be hurt by my gentle accusation. “Hey, I'm not Shinpachi. I only say things like that if they're true.”

I turned my gaze up to the quickly darkening sky. “Yeah, you're right...” Of course he was right. He wouldn't say something he didn't mean. “Lightning's beautiful... but it also hurts... If you're not careful, you'll get struck. She'll shock you and disappear before you even know what happened... Better to stay away from lightning...”

Before I even realized it, a tear rolled down my cheek. Like the lightning, it appeared and was gone. A hand reached over and brushed away another that was forming and then turned my head to look at Harada.

“I'll take my chances,” he whispered, leaning down to capture my lips in a gentle kiss. As he pulled away, Harada gave a small laugh. “I think I just shocked Lightning...”


	15. Fear (Sanosuke Harada)

_Keep it together..._ I told myself. That was a lot easier said than done though. As of this moment, the Shinsengumi was deciding whether to let me go or kill me. I was almost certain that I was going to die.

Needless to say, I was absolutely terrified. Sure, I'd been scared when those...  _things..._  attacked me, but then I at least had a hope of surviving. Even if I wasn't trained with a sword, I had been able to protect myself thanks to my instincts kicking in.

As the door slid open, all I could do was tremble with fear and think to myself that I didn't want to die.

 

_(Harada's POV)_

Something seemed off since we'd come into the room. We'd decided that the kid knew too much. We couldn't just let him go: we had to kill him. I hated to do it, but orders are orders. No doubt the kid already knew what was going to happen.

But looking down at him, I swore he was trembling. That brave kid who had faced us with a calm and cool attitude was clearly gone. Now, all that was there was a shaking boy who kept mumbling and whining to himself.

“I don't want to die.”

That was all he seemed to say. The more he repeated it, the more I noticed something: his voice was actually quite feminine sounding. Then I heard what sounded like a sob. Was this kid actually  _crying?_

“Hijikata...” I looked to our commander, not sure how to react to this. The boy was sobbing like a... Oh. My eyes went wide. He'd seemed a little girly, but I hadn't thought much of it. But throw in the trembling and the voice and the sobbing? Yeah, definitely seems like a girl.

I wasn't the only uneasy about this. “This just feels kinda wrong...” Shinpachi said beside me.

Souji, unlike us, felt much differently about it. “Come on and face it like a man.”

The next words out of anyone's mouth weren't what any of us were expecting. “A girl isn't supposed to be manly, you jackass!” the kid said, her voice coming out as little more than a mix of a sob and a whine.

 

_(Reader's POV)_

When I'd let it slip that I was a girl, I immediately clapped my hands over my mouth. I'd never intended to tell them that I was a woman. I shouldn't have to explain how a single woman among a group of men could cause trouble...

But it was too late to take it back now. Actually, at this point it might save my life. Right now, I didn't really care what happened as long as it meant that I wasn't going to die.

Thinking that they were going to kill me made me scared as hell. I didn't want them to do anything to me, but I didn't want to die even more than that.

“Did he just...?” one of the men standing around me said, though I didn't care to notice who. The confusion at least bought me a little more time. Right now, every second mattered. Sure, I had no intentions of running; I couldn't have escaped anyway. But still, I wanted to live. That's only normal, right?

Without a word the men around me exchanged looks and left the room. One, however, decided to stay behind. He stood there, silently staring down at me until I felt myself calming down.

“Just get it over with...” I sighed. There was no escape from this, so I just wanted them to get it over and done with. Sure, I was still scared as hell, but what could I do? It's not like there was any chance of fighting them.

My eyes never left the floor, but I could see him sit down in front of me. “You've got guts, for a woman,” the man said. “You didn't beg for us to spare your life or try to escape... Things like that can say a lot about someone.”

More than a little surprised by this, I shifted my gaze upward. It took a moment, but I soon remember the man to be named Harada. He seemed like a nice enough guy, for being a killer anyway. “What point is there in running? It's not like I actually have anywhere to go.” After it had already been said, I realized that probably wasn't going to help me.

Harada frowned slightly. “No family?” I shook my head. “Guess you're not from Kyoto either, huh?” Once again, the more I told him, the more I began to feel like I was just pushing myself closer to my grave.

After awhile, he suddenly stood up. Harada placed a hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair like I was a child. “I'll see what I can do. But no promises, okay?” As he smiled and walked away, all I could do was hope that with him on my side, everything would turn out alright.


	16. Mine (Souji Okita, Hajime Saito)

_(Okita's POV)_

Saito had been acting a bit strange lately, but until now I couldn't quite figure out why. It was because of a woman. He'd taken an interest in her and it wasn't hard to guess why. After all, she was quite beautiful, and she was smart. A near perfect woman, in my opinion. And Saito's as well, I'd bet.

In fact, I'd taken quite a liking to the lady myself. And as I'm sure you're aware, I'm not one to hold back in a fight. I had no intentions of losing this battle with Hajime Saito.

“She's really something, isn't she?” I smirked. Perhaps I could provoke him and speed up this little war. “I'll bet she's all sorts of  _fun_.”

As I spoke those words, I quickly met the tip of a silvery blade.

 

_(Saito's POV)_

I didn't know what came over me, but hearing Okita talk about her like that really got on my nerves. How dare he talk about her in such a way! He wasn't going to just get away with that.

For a brief second, I thought of all the times I'd tried to catch her attention and how Okita had interfered. In the end, all I'd been able to do that he hadn't been able to ruin was showing off my skill with my katana. But that hadn't been enough to win her over.

Anger started to surge within me and Okita could clearly see that. “Don't tell me you're jealous, Hajime,” he taunted. Having the tip of my sword at his throat seemed to have no effect on his mocking.

I lowered my sword just a bit, waiting for what I knew he'd do. Slowly he drew his weapon, silently acknowledging what had to be done. There was only one way to settle this.

 

_(Reader's POV)_

I'd come outside to look for Chizuru so that I could talk with another woman, but what I found was the last thing I expected. The two men who had been acting strangely were now locked in what almost looked like a battle to the death. But these two were friends, they wouldn't actually hurt each other, right?

They certainly looked like they wanted to kill the other. But then again, maybe this was just a very serious sparring match. After all, I hadn't known Souji Okita or Hajime Saito for very long.

As I stood there staring at the battling men, I was joined by the one I'd been searching for. She watched quietly a moment before shaking her head. “What's gotten into those two?”

The two of us couldn't take our eyes off of the two men. Clearly these two didn't normally fight this way. More than likely, they were fighting over something. It was actually very childish.

All I could do was sigh. “I'm not sure I really want to know.”


	17. I'm Your Favorite (Souji Okita, SSL)

“Hey Okita, do you have- What the hell is that?” I stared at my classmate. Souji Okita would do some weird things from time to time, but this was a little beyond just 'weird.'

He was currently dressed in some strange costume. And not just any costume, some sort of creature that was actually sort of cute. “Don't tell me you don't recognize your favorite Pokemon?”

If he thought that whatever he was, was my favorite Pokemon, then he was dead wrong. “I thought the little mishap with Saito proved I liked Pikachu?” I scowled at Okita, remembering what I'd had to go through to make him get rid of the picture he'd taken when Saito had fallen on top of me.

Okita pouted. “No, you like me better.”

“Oh really?” I ask, sarcastically. “And just what are you supposed to be?”

Okita frowned. “Don't tell me you don't know of the epic amazingness that is Zoroark?” He struck a powerful looking pose, showing off his cosplay.

While I may not have been familiar with this Zoroark Pokemon, it did suit Okita quite well. He had a powerful sort of appearance, but it was cute at the same time.

A chill ran down my spine.  _I just called Okita cute... What the hell is wrong with me?!?_ Okay, it may have just been in my head, but that still didn't mean I was okay with thinking it!

He seemed to notice my distress at the disturbing thought and a smirk quickly found its way onto his face. “You're not thinking naughty thoughts about me now, are you?” he teased, clearly trying to get to me. But I wasn't going to let him this time.

“Who would ever want to?” I hissed, trying to walk way. But when Okita pushed me against the wall, I realized he had other plans.

He leaned in close to my ear. “You know you like me,” he whispered. I couldn't quite see his face, but I knew that devilish smirk of his was there. “I'm you're favorite, after all.”

Slowly he backed away, that damned smirk still on his face. Annoyed, I punched him on the arm. “I hate you!” I hissed before starting to walk away.

“Love you too,” he said, that teasing voice of his only annoying me further and earning him another, harder punch. “You hit like a girl.”

That set it over the edge. As much as I liked Okita, he always knew just how to get on my nerves. In a flash, I was ready to make sure he regretted messing with me. Never in my life was I going to admit to him that I'd ever had such a thought about someone as infuriating (and gorgeous) as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering, I will take requests. All Hakuouki characters are welcome, Shinsengumi or not. Only rule is: No Male X Male or Female X Female pairings.  
> If you've got a scenario in mind, that will be very helpful too! (Also it helps if you specify if you want Fluff, Lemon, Fluffy Lemon, semi-mature, and so on. Or if you don't care, you can leave it up to the randomness that is my brain.)


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